CREATIVE PLACEMAKING TALK #2

On Friday, November 22, 2013, Ruedi Baur, principal of Integral Ruedi Baur, a Paris-based interdisciplinary practice specializes in exhibition design, way-finding, identity systems and civic projects through Civic City, a Geneva-based institute of critical research he founded which focuses on the identity of places. This lively conversation furthered AIGA/NY’s talks series on creative placemaking as part of the DESIGN/RELIEF initiative. The talk was held early morning at ARUP NY offices in South Street Seaport, the room was full. AIGA/NY Design/Relief Program Director Laetitia Wolff introduced the event providing background and updates on Design/Relie’s attempt to define creative placemaking by design.

Baur walked us through a select number of case studies, pulled from his design practice as well as from the academic labs he leads at Civic City, the Geneva-based urban research program, through which he often leverages the use of typography in public spaces, as a form of civic act.

Whether using street signage to bring history to a non-place, cartographic visualization tools to make visible the perception of a place, or build participatory writing workshops that engage a community in defining their geographical identity, Baur acknowledged the end of design’s classical period, that is one in which the designer is in complete control of results and output. “Now designers are prototype-makers,” he asserted.

What pervaded through Baur’s talk is this joyful, messy, and highly political take on design’s position and potential. In tune with his 1968 Paris alternative outlook on society, design and life, he proposed the following statements:

from a political standpoint:
• graphic design can bring counter positions, counter proposals to those presented by political powers, or city-led master planning efforts.
• our republic is based on a social contract, so if you want citizens to be civic, designers need to work on the civility of our cities.

from a design standpoint:
• design prototype is a tool for transformation and dialog in communities, design has the capacity to incubate and invent new ways of engaging populations typically not involved in the conversation.
• service design has to be part of graphic design. We are now in the high culture of the temporary and the soft.

Additional Information:
Integral Ruedi Baur
Civic City

Event Details:
AIGA/NY DESIGN/RELIEF: Ruedi Baur

CREATIVE PLACEMAKING TALK #1

On Thursday, October 24, 2013, Donald Hyslop, Head of Regeneration and Community Partnerships at Tate Modern, London, kicked off AIGA/NY’s informal talks on creative placemaking as part of the AIGA/NY conversation+action initiative, DESIGN/RELIEF. The talk was held at Pioneer Works Center of Art + Innovation, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. AIGA/NY DESIGN/RELIEF Program Director, Laetitia Wolff introduced the event.

Hyslop shared examples of how the Tate Modern, one of the largest and most iconic arts institution in the UK, works with its communities and surroundings to engage visiting and local artists, leverage existing infrastructure, and support economic diversity within the community, while building a connection between the tourists and local residents.

The Tate Modern’s Regeneration and Community Partnerships team employs the following principles in creative placemaking:
1. Be active in constant narratives/dialogues between partnerships
2. Engage in active, not passive, dialogue in regards to public ownership
3. Develop organic and flexible models, rather than developing masterplans
4. Use cultural institutions

The lake, a project co-produced by The Tate Modern, with EXYZT Architects.
Photo Courtesy of EXYZT Architects and Lake Estates

At the end of the talk, members for the AIGA/NY DESIGN/RELIEF teams had the opportunity to ask Hyslop for advice as they tackle on the challenge of revitalizing neighborhoods affected by Superstorm Sandy.

Additional Information:
Tate Modern, London
Tate Community Garden
Pioneer Works Center of Art + Innovation

Event Details:
AIGA/NY DESIGN/RELIEF: Donald Hyslop

Event Photos:

Click here to view all photos from AIGA/NY DESIGN/RELIEF: Donald Hyslop on Flickr.
 To view additional photos, or to contribute your photos, visit our AIGA New York Flickr group.